Protective apron



Aug. 14, 1951 A. L. PlE'rRowlcz PROTECTIVE APRON Filed Nov'. 5, 1949 ring buffer.

Patented Aug. 14, 1951 PROTECTIVE APRN Ambrose L. Pietrowicz, Evanston,Ill., assignor to lPoor & Company, Chicago, Il1.,: a corporation of'Delaware Application November 5, 1949, Serial No. 1255689 1` ('llaim. 1

This invention relates to a protective apron and more particularly to anapron adapted to be used by a workman employed in polishing metalarticles with the aid of a buffer or polishing Wheel.

In the manufacture of polished metal articles one process requires thata Workman hold a workpiece to be polished against a buffer wheel which1s rotating at a high rate of speed and to which various polishingcompositions containing abrasives and other materials are applied. It issometimes desirable that considerable force be eX- erted by the Workmanagainst the article to be polished in pressing the same against thepolish- The wear on the clothing of the Workman is substantial. Asubstantial amount of heat is also created in the workpiece andtransmitted to the hands or body of the workman.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apron which willprotect the clothing of the wearer in an efcient manner and will alsomake it possible for a workman to hold a Workpiece against a polishingbuffer with a minimum of discomfort. v

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent byreference to the following description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of an apron constructed in accordancewith this invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the apron shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure1.

The objects of the invention are accomplished by providing an apron witha reinforced section having a plurality of ridged portions surroundingone another. The ridges of material are preferably formed as a spiralbut may be concentric or have another configuration such that each ridgesubstantially surrounds an adjacent ridge, being separated therefrom byan intervening recess or valley. The ridges are preferably formed bysewing together a plurality of layers of cloth or other sheet material.Where the seams are formed the layers are compressed so as to producealternating recesses and ridges.

'I'he preferred apron is of generally elliptical shape having arelatively heavy reinforced central substantially circular area, thelargest dimension of which substantially corresponds or coincides withthe shortest diameter of the elliptical area. The remainder of theelliptical area on the opposite sides of the reinforced substantiallycircular central portion of the apron is preferably more flexible thanthe central portion so as to be capable of partially encircling the bodyof the wearer. In order to fasten the apron to the body of the wearermeans are provided, such as a tape or other fastening means, tied orotherwise affixed to opposite edges of the apron, preferably at pointsat opposite ends of the longer axis of the elliptical area.

The preferred structure as illustrated in the drawings consists of anelliptically shaped body portion having a reinforced central portion Iand composed of a plurality of sheets or plies of cotton duck or `othersheet material in superposed layers 2, 3, Il, 5, and 6 (see Figure 3),which layers are enclosed by opposed covering sheets 'I and 8. 'Ihe edgeof the apron is bound' by a tape 9 or other suitable binding materialwhich is sewed and held in place by the thread Iil.

The central portion of the apron which contains the additional layers ofmaterial 5 and 6 is also reinforced by sewing it with thread II,preferably spirally in the form of a spiral of Archimedes, asillustrated in Figure 1. The outermost spiral of the reinforced centralarea has a diameter substantially corresponding to the distance betweenthe ends I2 and I3 of the shorter axis of the elliptical body portion.The side portions III and I5 are more flexible than the reinforcedcentral portion of the apron and are provided with metal eyelets I6 andI'I to which tapes or strings I8 and I9 may be fastened by means of aknot or in any other suitable manner.

The more flexible areas Il and I5 are adapted to partially encircle thebody of the wearer. The reinforced central portion I of the apron isstiff enough to protect the body of the wearer and provides a supportfor holding workpieces against a polishing or buffer wheel. The spiralseam and the raised portions or ridges 2i) and 2I produced therebyprovide a surface which is sufriciently rough to prevent slipping of theworkpiece when it is held against the apron. The substantial thicknessof the material in the central portion of the apron also assists ininsulating the body of the wearer against any heat that may be generateddue to the friction of a rapidly rotating polishing wheel in contactwith the article being polished.

It will be apparent that the apron may be constructed of many differenttypes of materials including cotton, Wool, rayon, nylon, asbestos, glassfibers, plastic sheets (Koroseal, Saran) and the like. The employment ofa fire-resistant and a heat-insulating material such as asbestos in thecentral portion of the apron, or as at least one of the layers or pliescomprising the central portion of the apron, is especially desirable. Itwill also be recognized that where a material, such as cotton duck orother non-flre-resistant material is employed, such material may betreated with various types of chemicals to make it fire-resistant.

The spiral configuration of the ridges in the central portion I ascompared to straight line ridges has the advantage of substantiallypreventing slippage in any direction due to the fact that the ridges aregenerally circular. The expression generally circular as employed hereinis also intended to include and cover concentrically formed ridges suchas Would be produced by a plurality of concentric seams.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

An apron comprising essentially a generally elliptically shaped bodyportion composed of a 20 1,863,527

4 plurality of layers of cloth and having a central section extendingbetween the ends of the shorter axis of the elliptical body portion,said central section having a plurality of ridges formed therein by aseam sewed spirally and said central section being composed of a greaternumber of layers of cloth than the portions of said elliptical bodyadjacent the ends of the longer axis.

AMBROSE L. PIEI'ROWICZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,165,538 Pellant Dec. 28, 19151,457,807 Zucker June 45, 1923 1,499,160 Fanning June 24J 1924 SternJune 14, 1932

